MTA Brings Back Poetry In Motion Program

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is bringing back its popular Poetry In Motion program which brought thought-provoking poems to subway riders from 1992 to 2008.

The poems, which will be accompanied by a work of art, will be featured in subway cars and, for the first time, on the backs of select MetroCards.

“Our customers tell us again and again that even a small investment in art and music underground makes a huge difference to them,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota. “It can really improve the entire experience of riding the subway.”

“Having poetry in the subway is just a remarkable experience for our riders and they missed it,” Sandra Bloodworth, Director of the MTA’s Arts for Transit and Urban Design, told 1010 WINS. “People loved having the poetry in the subway, people loved having the opportunity just to experience it.”

The first poem to be included in the new incarnation of the program is “Graduation,” by Dorothea Tanning, who passed away in January at the age of 101.